Even from the outside, passers-by can see that Jason and Nicole Vogler's Heights home isn't a typical Craftsman bungalow.

Raised in West University and The Woodlands respectively, Jason and Nicole met through friends and took off for Europe just after they were married, with Jason's career as an energy trader leading them to Amsterdam, Geneva and London. But after two kids and seven years abroad, the young couple decided it was time to move back home.

Nicole fell hard for the Heights, with its eclectic charm and walkable streets, but after seven years in contemporary European flats, the couple was less enthusiastic about taking on the neighborhood's traditional style.

"We came from very modern environments, very frosty, modern and clean," said Nicole. "I love the Heights neighborhood, I wanted to walk places like we did in London, but I didn't really love craftsman-style homes, so I had to figure out a way to make it mine."

If that wasn't enough of a challenge, most of the design and all of the construction on their 3,000-square-foot home took place when the family was still ensconced in London. To make the long-distance design process work, the Voglers signed on with Marie Flanigan of Marie Flanigan Interiors.

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"To work with clients who are overseas is a testament to what's possible now for designer-client relationships," said Flanigan. "We started designing this house over Skype, and we would e-mail concepts back and forth. They had to rely on us and our eyes to make sure the colors were right. We'd go by the site and review the progress and quality, really be their eyes and ears here."

"We like the idea of the craftsman, the exposed wood and trim, but we didn't want a very historical look with a lot of dark wood. It's beautiful, but not for us. We wanted a more modern spin with color," said Jason Vogler.

Accustomed to tight spaces, the Voglers turned the crawl space underneath the stairs into a tiny playroom for the kids and carved more play space out of a section of the garage. In the living room, the wainscoting hides storage space for toys all around the mantel.

To infuse the home with the couple's contemporary aesthetic, Flanigan started with plenty of sleek finishes, such as the radiant edges on the granite countertops in the butler's pantry, mixed with mirrored tiles on the backsplash and clean Euro bar pulls on the cabinets. The home has plenty of craftsman-style wainscoting and casements but Flanigan painted all the woodwork and the walls a crisp white, even the coffered ceilings.

"In the Heights, you have to stay in context, so our design had to marry the two styles," said Flanigan.

"Casements are traditional, but it's very contemporary to have this art gallery feel with white walls and loud, bright pops of color."

The color is what really stands out, especially from the outside. Playing on the Southern tradition of painting the ceiling of a porch light blue, the Voglers punched the color up to 11 with a bright cornflower blue. Inside, a similar blue island adds a jolt of color to the kitchen, while the butler's pantry cabinetry is finished in a rich forest green. One of the home's most dramatic features is the bookcase wall in the office, which Nicole envisioned as a bright kelly green.

"It's people's first impression of the interiors, because you can see it from street," said Nicole. "Kelly green has always made me happy. It's refreshing and fun, and paint is so easy."

In the end, the Voglers were able to move straight from London into their new home, sleeping on rental beds the first night. Picking paints colors via Skype was challenging enough (the kelly green took more than one try), so fabrics and details such as light fixtures were put on hold until the couple could feel and see them in situ.

The result is an eclectic look with a strong dose of glamour. In the living room, a pair of tufted sofas in kid-friendly neutral fabrics are contrasted against the geometric lines of midcentury-inspired pieces and bright colors on the throw pillows. The natural texture of a blond wood table brought back from abroad in the dining room is countered by a sleek metal chandelier and bar cart. Framed art from the couple's travels to Santorini, Rome, Lyon and Chamonix finished the spaces with a personal touch.

"They wanted something unexpected," said Flanigan. "Because they are coming from London and Europe, they are bringing something fresh to Houston. They were totally willing to take risks, mix colors and mix metal finishes to give the home a fun, whimsical vibe."